Boston health officials proposed Wednesday a package of anti-smoking restrictions intended to counter acting Gov. Jane Swift’s recent anti-tobacco campaign cuts, including a ban on all cigarette vending machines.
“Between 1993 and 1998, there have been more than 1,800 cases of lung cancer within the city of Boston,” said Roger Swartz, director of the Bureau of Community Initiatives for the Public Health Commission, in defense of the new restrictions.
Swartz explained the proposal was the commission’s attempt to protect the health of the general public as well as to keep tobacco products out of the hands of the youth.
In addition to eliminating 130 vending machines located in bars and clubs, the proposal would ban cigarette companies from distributing free tobacco products and merchandise, require anti-smoking posters wherever cigarettes are sold and require all tobacco products to be kept behind checkout counters, according to an article in The Boston Globe.
Due to strained fiscal revenues, many prevention measures need to be scaled back in order to continue to provide direct care to needy citizens, a Swift spokesperson said in response to questions about the anti-smoking campaign.
Swift’s office had no comment regarding the Health Commission’s proposed bans.
Philip Morris Tobacco Company, however, said the proposed changes would not have a large effect on its business.
“A very, very small percentage of our sales come from cigarette vending machines, and that number is decreasing,” said Philip Morris spokesman Brenden McCormick.
McCormick said Philip Morris already encourages behind-the-counter sales of its tobacco products and does not distribute free tobacco products, although it does distribute other promotional items.
“Our goal is to market responsibly and effectively to adult smokers,” McCormick said.
Swartz questioned this assertion, saying there has been a possible increase in the smoking trend among adults 18 and older since 2000. He said there is an increase in the number of new smokers despite an anti-smoking campaign in 1992 as a result of a Massachusetts 25-cent-per-pack cigarette tax and a decrease in smokers between 1992-2000.
The proposal is awaiting approval by the seven-member Boston Health Commission on March 4. If passed, the proposal could take effect this spring, although details will not be arranged until the public hearing in March.
Swartz said health officials believe there is wide support of the proposal throughout the city, although the money that cigarette agencies use to suggest opposition is misleading. The recent anti-tobacco campaign cuts made them more mindful of what can be done in the face of budget deficits, he said.
The Boson Health Commission has been working since 1992 on similar proposals, all with the goal of eliminating youth access to unhealthy substances and promoting healthy decisions within the community.
According to the Globe, the main author of the proposal, Boston Health Commission Executive Director John Auerbach, said such regulations are more important now than ever before due to the growing number of budget cuts for anti-tobacco campaigns.
In the same article, Mayor Thomas Menino expressed his support for the proposal and encouraged the promotion of a smoke-free city.
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